SPEAKING OF SKETCHBOOKS...

Since we've been talkin' about sketchbooks... I thought I'd show something from an older book:


This here was one of the early versions of 1000 Times No as beat out in a sketchbook from days long gone. You can see some notes to myself on the left side, along with what I happened to be listening to on the rock system and other assorted minutia. The beginning and end of the book are kind of the same, but it was too darn long and there was a bunch of stuff in the middle that had to go. Which brings up a great piece of advice that a lot of picture book folks like Jon Scieszka and Mo Willems often scream at the top of their lungs:

CUT OUT THE MIDDLE!

Your book is too darn long. Simplify it! One of the things these guys are SOOOOOoooooo good at is taking an idea and distilling it down to its purest awesomeness. Can you do that? I'm not even sure I can, but I'm trying.

How about you?